But that wasn’t the only thing that had put him in a bad mood. He’d stopped by the hotel hoping to talk to Cassie Decker, but she’d already checked out. Feeling bad for letting her down, he’d sent her a telegram that he wanted to talk to her. There had to be something he could do to make amends.

There had been one bright spot in his day. He’d learned the judge was out of town. That meant he was still married, at least for now, and the ranch was still his. It might only be a temporary reprieve, but it gave him time to think up another plan.

Blast it all! Who was he kidding? The only way to save the ranch was to satisfy the requirements of his father’s will.

After tying his horse, Rebel, to the rail, Chase walked to the side of the house and rolled up his sleeves. Hanging his hat on a hook, he lowered his hands into the rain barrel all the way to his elbows. The cool water offered a welcome respite from the dust and the heat but did nothing for his dark mood.

He plunged his head all the way into the water, as much to curtail his troubled thoughts as to cool down his heated body.

It had been an especially warm winter and was an even warmer spring, with very little rain. That meant a bleak summer ahead.

Lifting his dripping head out of the barrel, he sputtered and reached for a towel. He wiped his face dry and blinked the water out of his eyes. The sound of footsteps on gravel told him he wasn’t alone. Thinking it was one of the cowhands with news about the rustlers, he turned. Much to his surprise, he found himself staring into the big, blue eyes of his accidental bride.

Without so much as a howdy-do, she tossed her head and regarded him with a narrowed gaze. “What happens after the year is up?”

He glanced at the horse and buggy he’d failed to notice earlier. He needed a full moment to make sense of her words. “So, have you given up on an annulment?”

“The judge is out of town until Friday,” she said. “So again I ask, what happens at the end?”

Chase stared at her with wary regard. Was she really thinking about staying in the marriage? “Like I told you. Either we stay married, or you give me the gate…eh…divorce,” he said, keeping his voice neutral. He didn’t want to scare her off a second time.

He couldn’t tell by the look on her face if it was the married part or a possibility of divorce that she found distasteful. True, divorce was still looked down upon by most folks, but it was gradually becoming more acceptable. The only grounds necessary were incompatibility of temperament, which made a divorce easier to attain than an annulment.

Hanging the towel to dry, he plucked his Stetson off the hook. He raked his fingers through his still-dripping hair before donning his hat. “What happened with Garvey?”